Vietnam and The Sixties, Vietnam 7
260. NAZARIAN, Barry. Final Reckoning. NY: Seaview/Putnam (1983). Advance review copy of this story of a father and son, the son a vet crippled in Vietnam. Near fine in surface soiled, thus very good dust jacket.
261. NICHOLS, John. American Blood. NY: Henry Holt (1987). A somewhat controversial novel by the author of The Milagro Beanfield War. Nichols was taken to task by some critics for his portrayal of the brutalizing effects of war without his having been a veteran himself. Something of a departure for this author, who is most well-known for his New Mexico trilogy and for his photographs of the Southwestern United States. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
262. NIELSEN, Alfred. The Summer of the Paymaster. NY: Norton (1990). Advance review copy with publisher's promotional sheet laid in. A novel of a boy coming of age in New York in 1968 as he waits for his best friend to return from Vietnam. Fine in fine dust jacket.
263. NIELSEN, Jon. Artist in South Vietnam. NY: Julian Messner (1969). Small, thin quarto, illustrated with the author's drawings of South Vietnam during wartime. Fine in a very good dust jacket with a couple of short edge tears and a 1" chip at the upper rear spine fold.
264. NIXON, Richard. No More Vietnams. NY: Arbor House (1985). The former President on the "lessons of Vietnam." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a small area (3/8") on the front panel where the lamination is missing.
265. NORMAN, Michael. These Good Men. Friendships Forged from War. NY: Crown (1989). An account by a journalist and Vietnam vet of the aftermath of the war for a group of vets with whom he served. Fine in fine dust jacket.
266. O'BRIEN, Tim. If I Die in a Combat Zone. London: Calder & Boyars (1973). First English edition of the author's first book, a highly praised memoir of the war in which O'Brien uses some of the techniques of fiction to convey the experience with immediacy and power. Very fine in dust jacket and signed by the author.
267. O'BRIEN, Tim. Going After Cacciato. (NY): Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence (1978). His third book, a magical realist novel about a recruit who decides to walk away from the war and go to Paris, overland. Dreamlike and surreal passages alternate with vivid straightforward action to give the story some of the strength of myth. The New York Times said that "to call Going After Cacciato a book about war is like calling Moby Dick a book about whaling." Winner of the National Book Award. Very near fine in near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. A very attractive copy.
268. -. Another copy. Very good in very good dust jacket with light edgewear and a crease on the front flap.
269. -. Same title, this being an uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition. (London: Cape, 1978). Fine in wrappers, in near fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
270. O'BRIEN, Tim. Northern Lights. NY: Delacorte (1975). His second novel, about two brothers, one a Vietnam vet. A cheaply-made, "perfectbound" book, it is difficult to find in nice condition. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket, with the only flaw being that the pages were bound into the case upside-downa defect only noticeable upon removing the dust jacket. A very scarce book, especially in fine condition. Signed by the author.
271. O'BRIEN, Tim The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. His fifth book, a collection of related stories which share a number of characters as well as the narratora "Tim O'Brien" whose experience bears certain similarities to the author's own, as well as a number of differences. Selected as one of the 12 best books of the year, in all categories, by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Not quite a novel in the standard sense but more tightly structured than the usual collection of stories, it is a powerful meditation on war and death, and on the place that storytelling has in bringing these ultimately unfathomable experiences within our grasp. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author. An extraordinary book, this may turn out to be the Red Badge of Courage of the Vietnam wara book that outlives its time and rings with truth long after its author and its original audience are gone.
272. -. Another copy, this one warmly inscribed by the author to another writer. Fine in fine dust jacket. A nice association.
273. -. Another copy, unsigned. Fine in fine dust jacket.
274. -. Another copy. Signed by the author, and in a trial dust jacket which was never issued by the publisher; together with an advance excerpt from the book, in stapled wrappers and also signed by O'Brien; and a copy of a third trial design for the dust jacket which was also discarded. Reportedly only two copies were prepared with the trial artwork for these jackets. A rare state of one of the important books of the last decade, and perhaps the finest volume of fiction to come out of the Vietnam war. All elements fine.
275. -. Same title, the limited first edition issued by the Franklin Mint and preceding all other editions. With a special introduction by the author which does not appear in other editions, and signed by the author. This copy was, additionally, the author's own copy and is signed by him as such. Leatherbound, gilt-stamped, fine as issued.
276. -. Same title, the first British edition (London: Collins, 1990). Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author. This was the author's own copy and a note of provenance can be provided with the book to that effect.
277. -. Same title, first Canadian edition. (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990). Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
278. O'BRIEN, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Advance reading copy of the author's most recent novel, involving a Vietnam vet who rises to a position of public prominence but carries a secret that threatens to undo his accomplishment. The text of this book was revised between the issuance of this advance copy and the published book, and then again after the book was published but before the paperback came out. Published to universal critical acclaim. Covers splaying slightly, otherwise a fine copy.
279. (O'BRIEN, Tim). "Retelling War Stories: Going After Tim O'Brien." Cream City Review. Spring, 1980. (Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin, 1980). A prose poem meditation on Going After Cacciato; fine in wrappers and signed by Tim O'Brien, whose copy this was.
280. (O'BRIEN, Tim). Interview with Tim O'Brien and Robert Stone. Modern Fiction Studies, Spring 1984. West Lafayette: Purdue, 1984. Special issue on "Modern War Fiction" with much critical analysis of Vietnam material in addition to this interview. Fine in wrappers and signed by Tim O'Brien. Again, from O'Brien's personal library.
281. (O'BRIEN, Tim). Interview in The Missouri Review. Vol. XIV, No. 3, 1991. Columbia: U. of Missouri, 1991. Warmly inscribed by the interviewer to Tim O'Brien and signed by O'Brien. O'Brien's personal copy. The inscription reads in part: "whenever I think of the editors of The Missouri Review I remember your portrayal of revenge in `Ghost Soldiers.'" Cover splaying, otherwise a fine copy.
282. (O'BRIEN, Tim). "Stockings," in Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories. NY: Norton (1992). The issue in wrappers of this collection of short-short stories. Signed by Tim O'Brien at the contents page and at his contribution. From the library of Tim O'Brien. Fine.
283. (O'BRIEN, Tim). "Beginning," in Inheriting the Land: Contemporary Voices From the Midwest. Minneapolis: U. of Minnesota Press (1993). Signed by Tim O'Brien at his contribution. Fine in wrappers, with no indication of a hardcover edition. O'Brien's personal copy, from his library.
284. (O'BRIEN, Tim). Interview in Artful Dodge, 22/23. (Columbus: Ohio Arts Council/College of Wooster, 1992). Lengthy, insightful interview with O'Brien conducted by two interviewers. This copy signed by O'Brien and from his personal library. Fine in wrappers.
285. (O'BRIEN, Tim). HERZOG, Tobey C. Vietnam War Stories: Innocence Lost. London & New York: Routledge (1992). A critical study of the literature of the Vietnam war, including much material on O'Brien's books. Warmly inscribed by the author to Tim O'Brien and signed by O'Brien. From O'Brien's personal library. This is the issue in wrappers; there was also a hardcover issue. Fine.
286. (O'BRIEN, Tim). RINGNALDA, Donald. Fighting and Writing the Vietnam War. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi (1994). Critical study of Vietnam war literature with one lengthy chapter focusing on O'Brien. Signed by O'Brien, and from his personal library. Fine in dust jacket.
287. (O'BRIEN, Tim). Interview in War, Literature & The Arts. Colorado Springs: U.S. Air Force Academy, 1994. Lengthy interview in this journal. Signed by O'Brien and from his personal library. Fine in wrappers. The collection of O'Brien's interviews on the subject of war and literature would make one of the most powerful and profound statements on that subject of our time.
288. (O'BRIEN, Tim). You've Got to Read This: Contemporary Writers Introduce Stories That Held Them in Awe. (NY): Harper (1994). The issue in wrappers of this massive collection, which contains both a story by O'Brien and an introduction by O'Brien to another writer's story. Signed by Tim O'Brien and from his personal library. Fine in wrappers.
289. OLDHAM, Perry. Vinh Long. (Meadows of Dan): Northwoods Press (1976). Small press collection of poems written by a vet. Inscribed by the author in 1977. Dust-soiled; else fine in stapled wrappers.
290. OSBORNE, John. The First Two Years of the Nixon Watch. NY: Liveright (1971). A collection of political columns, this being the issue in wrappers. Remainder stripe bottom edge of pages, covers splayed from reading; overall, near fine.
291. (PALEY, Grace). "Report from the DRV" in WIN Magazine. (NY): (Workshop in Nonviolence) (1968). An article based on a talk Paley gave at the Washington Square Methodist Church after a three week trip to North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam). Illustrated with the author's photographs. Pages acidifying; else fine in stapled wrappers.
292. PALME, Olof. Vietnam. A Voice from Sweden. (Toronto): (Canadian Peace Congress) (1968). Text of an address given by Palme, then Minister of Education, in Stockholm on February 21, 1968 and later issued in printed form at the "Stockholm Conference on Vietnam" in March, 1968. Fine in stapled wrappers.
293. PARKS, David. GI Diary. NY: Harper & Row (1968). Diary and photographs by this young black soldier, the son of photographer Gordon Parks. Fine in a dust jacket with one edge tear at the upper front spine fold; else fine. One of a relatively small number of personal accounts written by black soldiers.
294. (Parody Prospectus). Preliminary Prospectus/ 225,000,000 Shares/ THE WAR IN VIETNAM. NY: Workman (1970). Elaborate parody prospectus, offering shares in the Vietnam war and suggesting, as a prospectus should, what a good investment such shares would be: "The Company's advertising is carried on domestically by its Chief Executive Officer on network television at prime time, free of charge...Since statements made by the management are not subject [sic] to standards of truth imposed on other advertisers...the Company believes that it will always be able to obtain its objectives through advertising and public relations campaign." Other sections detail the "Risk Factors," as prospectuses are required to do: "The Company has been actively engaged in business for over six years and operations to date have not been profitable." A thoroughgoing parody, tinged with more than a little of the cynicism and bitterness that characterized the polarized debate on the war at that point in time. Very good in stapled wrappers.
295. PATRICK, Robert. Kennedy's Children. NY: Random House (1976). A play set in 1974, with one character a Vietnam vet who is preoccupied with letters he wrote while overseas but never sent. Fine in fine dust jacket.
296. PELFREY, William. The Big V. NY: Liveright (1972). Advance review copy of a first novel in the short-lived "Liveright New Writer" series. A novel of a young man just out of college, who is drafted to serve in Vietnam. Stain to bottom page edges and lower front board; very good, without dust jacket, as issued.
Core Collection of Vietnam War Books
297. (PETTIT, Clyde Edwin). We are very pleased to be offering for sale the collection of Vietnam-related books assembled over more than 30 years by Clyde Edwin Pettit, the author of The Experts (Secaucus: Lyle Stuart, 1975), a compendium of "experts'" statements on the war, which persuasively made the case that there were no experts. Pettit was for years Special Assistant to Senator Carl Hayden, at that time President of the U.S. Senate, and later went to Vietnam as a correspondent for two critical years, 1965-66, during which time he did a number of radio broadcasts and became increasingly convinced that the war was unwinnable. He later became very close to Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, who was the pivotal figure in gaining overwhelming Congressional approval for the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, but was swayed in his opinion on the war by a long letter written to him by Pettit and later became one of the chief opponents in Congress of the American war effort in Vietnam. A copy of a letter from Fulbright attesting to this fact, and calling Pettit's letter "prescient" is included. Fulbright called Pettit's book, The Experts, "the definitive chronicle of the Vietnam war," and credits Pettit with "a consistent vision of our proper role in foreign affairs." A collection like this, created over several decades by an individual deeply involved with the subject matter, would be virtually impossible to assemble today. It would represent an excellent core collection for an institutional library that wished to establish a coherent and comprehensive selection of materials on Indochina, Vietnam and the Vietnam war. The collection consists of over 450 items, more than 80% of it nonfiction. For sale as a collection only, but arrangements can be made for buying back duplicates, if need be. An itemized list is available upon request. For the collection:
298. PHAM DUY. Musics of Vietnam. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University (1975). A study of Vietnamese popular music by a folklorist, musician and musicologist. The first such study to attempt to cover the many different types of folk music of the various regions of Vietnam. Fine in dust jacket.